White Pine County, Nevada: Map

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White Pine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada

. The 2000 census recorded its population to be 9,181; a 2006 estimate placed its population at 9,542. Its county seat is Ely

. It is the home of Great Basin National Park

. The name derives from White Pine, an old name for the Limber Pine, a common tree in the county's mountains.

History

White Pine County was created in 1869 out of eastern Lander County

and was named for the heavy growth of pine trees in the area, thought to be white pine. Hamilton

was the first county seat from 1869 to 1887 when it was replaced after a fire by Ely

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 8,897 square miles (23,042 km²), of which, 8,876 square miles (22,989 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (53 km²) of it (0.23%) is water.

Several sections of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest exist within the county, within the Snake Range

, Egan Range

, White Pine Range

, Ruby Mountains, and Schell Creek Range

. The county also contains Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historical Park.

In the southeastern part of the county is Great Basin National Park

and Wheeler Peak, the tallest mountain wholly within Nevada.

Wilderness

White Pine County is home to a number of designated wilderness areas. They were created on December 20, 2006, by the "White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2006."

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Great Basin National Park
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (part)
Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Economy

From the late nineteenth century until near the end of the twentieth century, the major industry was mining the region's deposits of copper, silver, and gold. The most notable of these operations included a series of open-pit copper mines near the town of Ruth

, and a copper smelter in McGill

, run by the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,181 people, 3,282 households, and 2,159 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.0 people per square mile (0.40/km²). There were 4,439 housing units at an average density of 0.50 per square mile (0.19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.35% White, 4.14% Black or African American, 3.29% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 3.09% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. 10.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,282 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 128.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 138.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,688, and the median income for a family was $44,136. Males had a median income of $36,083 versus $26,425 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,309. About 10.3% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.